Episode 1072
Episode 1072
Puyo poured out praises as he looked at the magic completed by the two Einrogard students.
"To think mages still in their student years could complete something like this! Professor Verdus must be a truly happy man!"
"??"
Professor Verdus tilted his head in confusion from under the table.
Why would he be happy when he was crawling on all fours because of his students' underhanded tricks?
"But... no. This is an ancient magic I've never seen before? Where did you obtain this?"
Avalkaigen, who had been staring intently at the magic engraved on the board, exclaimed in surprise.
It was astonishing enough that they had fused a Dimensional Rod and refraction to engrave it onto a single board, but upon closer inspection, he could see several ancient magics—now lost to time—supporting the magic circle's operation and structure.
Even Avalkaigen, who was quite the expert on ancient artifacts, had never seen this ancient magic before.
"Did you perhaps seek teachings from Lord Gonadaltes?"
"Nope. That guy's too petty to teach easily."
At the response from below, Avalkaigen looked down with disbelief.
Though Lord Gonadaltes had a somewhat controversial reputation in the empire due to his self-righteous actions, he was still the guardian of the empire's Magic Barrier and the Emperor's Magic Tower.
Moreover, that beaver beastman was a professor at Einrogard, making him Avalkaigen's superior as well.
Yet, such disrespectful behavior...
'How unfortunate the Einrogard Enchantment Magic school is! No matter how skilled they are, having to serve such a madman as their teacher...'
Avalkaigen looked at Lee Han and Yukveltire with pity in his eyes.
Misinterpreting his gaze, Yukveltire whispered to her junior.
"Be careful."
"Of what?"
"That look—he's clearly coveting the magic we completed."
"......That's a look of pity, Senior."
"Why?"
"Because we're Professor Verdus's students."
"......"
Normally, Yukveltire would never accept anyone's sympathy, but this time, she was at a loss for words.
After hesitating, she finally spoke.
"But... surely there must be at least some merits? You refute him instead."
"No thanks."
No matter how confident Lee Han was in his rhetoric, he had no desire to engage in such a topic.
There was simply no winning that argument.
"Might I ask where you found this?"
"Uh... we discovered it by chance within Einrogard."
"I see. Thank you for answering my presumptuous question so sincerely."
Lee Han had worried his answer was too vague, but Avalkaigen surprisingly accepted it without issue.
Even before the empire's magic schools were established, Einrogard had been a place where all kinds of magic accumulated. It wasn't strange at all to find lost magics there.
After examining the magic several times, Avalkaigen let out a sigh. No matter how much he wanted to nitpick, the design was near perfect—as if drawn by an ancient archmage themselves.
"I concede. I concede, Professor Verdus. I must admit—even as a teacher, you're a step above me."
"That's not true, Master!"
His disciple, Abalkarn, cried out involuntarily, overcome with guilt.
If anything was lacking, it was him—not his master.
"That's right! Absolutely not!"
—Don't say such things!
"???"
The orc mage turned his head in bewilderment as vehement shouts erupted beside him.
Lee Han and the rest of the Einrogard group were shouting angrily.
—It's absolutely not that Lord Avalkaigen is lacking! Don't think such strange thoughts!
"I worked hard alongside Senior Yukveltire to make this—how is this thanks to Professor Verdus?! Don't speak carelessly!"
Even if the Death Knights were one thing, from Avalkaigen's perspective, Lee Han was still a mere greenhorn.
Yet even so, Avalkaigen found himself overwhelmed by the boy from the Wardanaz family.
The murderous aura was as if he were facing a sworn enemy!
"I... I seem to have misspoken. My apologies."
"......No, it's fine. I think I got too worked up as well, so I apologize too. And since I belong to all academic factions at Einrogard, I have multiple teachers. I absolutely didn't mean to imply it was solely thanks to Professor Verdus."
"......"
Avalkaigen felt he had clearly grasped one thing.
The students of Einrogard's Enchantment Magic faction—whether upperclassmen or underclassmen—all genuinely despised Professor Verdus.
"Now then!"
As soon as the tedious student introductions concluded, Professor Verdus immediately brought up the most fascinating topic in the Empire—his own magical research.
When a sailboat small enough to fit in the palm of his hand appeared on the table, the mages gasped in astonishment.
Even Lee Han was inwardly surprised.
'This... Could it be an actual ship shrunken down with magic?'
"Sharp eyes. Ah... unless you heard about it in advance from Professor Verdus—no, never mind. My apologies."
"N-No, not at all."
The atmosphere between Avalkaigen and Lee Han grew slightly awkward. Lee Han deeply regretted his behavior. 'How rude of me to act like this toward someone I just met.' Normally, Lee Han wasn't this discourteous.
But the moment the other man suggested he might be close to Professor Verdus, an inexplicable hostility surged through his entire body...
"Still, this is truly impressive. I had no idea reduction magic could be performed to this extent."
"One can't help but acknowledge Professor Verdus's skill."
Transmutation Magic wasn't omnipotent.
Especially when it came to shrinking actual objects, the difficulty increased exponentially in proportion to their size and the duration of the spell.
The mages present could discern just how intricate and powerful the reduction magic affecting the sailboat was.
At this scale, the original size would easily fill this entire room.
"Wait a moment. The sailboat's appearance seems slightly different from the original, doesn't it?"
Puyo, with his keen eye for appraisal, noticed the discrepancy.
The sailboat differed from the one Professor Verdus had sketched and shown in his letters a few times before.
"Hmm. What's this? Why is it different? Did you remake it?"
"That one got stolen by Lagesa."
Professor Verdus grumbled, as if the mere memory still infuriated him.
"Lagesa? You mean... the admiral of the Southern Privateer Fleet?"
"Most likely. She's one of Professor Verdus's patrons, after all."
"Wait, then it wasn't stolen, was it?"
Avalkaigen asked, looking genuinely puzzled.
How could it be theft if a patron took something they had invested in?
"It was stolen! She took it without permission!"
Professor Verdus snapped back indignantly.
Because the previously crafted miniature sailboat had disappeared, he'd had to start from scratch, costing him an exorbitant amount of time and resources.
Lagesa had sent additional gold afterward, but it was nowhere near enough.
"Did she take something other than what she invested in?"
"No? She took exactly what she invested in."
"......"
As the others silently suppressed their fury, Professor Verdus grumbled again.
"Wardanaz got bribed and handed it over."
"Please don't misunderstand. I wasn't bribed—it's just that if Lagesa didn't receive the completed ship this time, she would have been truly furious—"
"None of us here would misunderstand, so don't worry about it."
At Puyo's words, the knights instinctively nodded in agreement.
Not a single person present would take Professor Verdus's words at face value.
Even if Professor Verdus claimed, "My disciple Wardanaz set my workshop on fire, stabbed me, and looted all my valuable treasures!" everyone here would take Lee Han's side.
"Hold on. The hull's shape has changed, hasn't it?"
"Indeed. The front mast has been altered as well..."
The two mages who had accepted Professor Verdus's invitation were taken aback by how different the newly crafted sailboat was from the original one.
This was a more serious issue than they'd thought.
After all, all the magic they had prepared after receiving the invitation here had been tailored to the original sailboat.
From the ancient artifact that would be embedded in the hull to regulate the aerial climate, to the magic that modified the mast into something akin to a magical staff, allowing the boat itself to cast spells.
Both were intricate magics that would require readjustment if the sailboat's form had changed.
"I took the liberty of tweaking the design I didn't like while making a new one."
"...Then you should have told us that!"
Avalkaigen growled out the words.
What in the world was this insane beaver mage thinking?!
"You can just fix it here, can't you?"
"How much time do you want us to waste? We came all this way after being invited!"
Irritated by the unnecessary waste of time, Avalkaigen abruptly stood up and stormed out the door.
They had accepted this invitation because they needed each other's cooperation, but he was already regretting it.
"Sigh..."
As he stepped outside and let out a weary sigh, the knights followed him out. Avalkaigen apologized.
"My apologies. You came all this way as escorts, only to witness such a scene."
-No, that's not an issue. More importantly, Mage. You said you prepared the magic for the original sailboat?
"Well... yes... but...?"
Avalkaigen was puzzled, not understanding why the Death Knights were asking this.
-If that original sailboat still exists, would you be able to work on it?
"You mean Lady Lagesa didn't take it?"
-She later gifted it to someone else. It's a bit of a long story. But we'll take that as a yes.
"???"
Without waiting for an answer, the knights turned to go back inside—this time to fetch Puyo.
But Puyo walked out first. Avalkaigen bowed his head in apology.
"Forgive me, Master. Because of me..."
"Ah, no, no. Professor Verdus kept pestering me to cut off a piece of my body, so I stepped out to avoid the nuisance."
Professor Verdus had long been fascinated by Puyo's body, given that he was both a half-breed tree spirit and an exceptional mage.
Being such a remarkable specimen, the professor never missed a chance to pester him for a 'small sample.'
"But why are the knights gathered here?"
The knights repeated the same question they'd asked Avalkaigen earlier. Puyo reacted the same way.
"Didn't Lady Lagesa take it?"
-It's a long story. Anyway, understood!
The knights went back inside and returned this time with the Skeleton Principal's prized disciple in tow.
Lee Han was utterly bewildered, unable to grasp the situation.
"Are you planning to ambush Professor Verdus?"
-No.
The Death Knights were tempted but denied it. Still, they made a mental note to seriously consider attempting it later.
-Heir.
"Shh. There are ears everywhere." 'Heir?' The two mages wondered inwardly but didn't intervene in the conversation.
-Understood, Lord Wardanaz. About that sailboat you received last time.
"Yes."
-What if we entrusted it to these gentlemen?
"???"
The two mages couldn't hold back and cut in.
"Wait. Didn't Lady Lagesa take it?"
"Lady Lagesa gave it back to me."
"Why?"
Avalkaigen was stunned.
That small sailboat capable of navigating the skies was no ordinary trinket. Lagesa must have invested an enormous amount in Professor Verdus to obtain it.
Yet she had given it to the disciple of the mage she despised beyond reason.
"I don't know the exact reason, but if I had to guess..."
The two mages leaned in.
What possibility had Lagesa seen in this genius?
"Perhaps she pitied me for having to study under Professor Verdus?"
"......"
For a moment, Avalkaigen almost found himself convinced before quickly snapping out of it.